Asian stocks sank on Thursday as a technology-led selloff deepened, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slumping 1.8% to its lowest level in nearly three months and on track for a fourth straight week of decline, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Japan's Nikkei gave up earlier gains to trade 2% lower, Korean shares tumbled more than 4%, China's blue-chip CSI300 fell 2% — pushing it to the brink of a technical bear market — and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost more than 3%, Reuters said. Morningstar, citing Dow Jones, put the Kospi down 4.0%, the Nikkei down 2.35% and the Hang Seng down 3.2%, with the Hang Seng Tech Index dropping over 5% to its lowest intraday level in two years.

1.8%fall in MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan
4%+fall in Korean shares
-6%+Tokyo Electron in Tokyo
-6.5%Alibaba in Hong Kong

Tech leaders were among the biggest losers, with Japan's Tokyo Electron down more than 6%, Korea's SK Hynix down 5.7% and Samsung down 4.2%, and Alibaba down 6.5% in Hong Kong, Reuters reported. In Seoul, Aju Press reported the Kospi down 3.14% at 5,556.72 at 1:15 p.m. local time, with Samsung Electronics down 4.03% and SK Hynix down 5.41%, as foreign and institutional investors sold.

Source: Aju Press

The selloff followed a higher Wall Street close overnight, where SpaceX posted its first profit as a public company and Meta reported third-quarter revenue that beat expectations, Reuters said. The optimism faded in Asia as investors refocused on AI costs, with Meta's plan to issue non-voting Class C stock reviving concerns over mounting capital commitments.

"There's a lot of noise out there at the moment and investors are still digesting this morning's results," Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, told Reuters, adding that earnings season is arriving alongside uncertainty from an upcoming Fed decision, geopolitical risks and the US mid-terms. In early European trading, Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.9% and US S&P 500 e-minis dropped 0.8%, Reuters said.